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Friday, 10 May 2013

The Scorpion Project: Narrative Structure

Wow... my third Scorpion Project post today. This is my fourth literary theory post and sixth individual blog post about this project. This post is on narrative structure.

The exposition stage of the novel lasted until roughly page 52, the beginning of the Middle Age (7-11) section. I think this because by then mostly all the characters and main settings have been introduced, aside from El Patron who we meet in the next chapter. I found this was too long of an exposition and I grew bored.

The rising action was very long-- Much longer than I felt it should be. I think it lasted from page 52 all the way until page 368, just before the last chapter. However, there were several drops as the line climbed. The first minor point of tension the last chapter before La Vida Nueva, The Farm Patrol. This was an intense section because Matt managed to escape from El Patron's grasp and out of Opium. But then, as we get into the La Vida Nueva section, things even out again before the big finale.

So if the rising action was so long, you can assume that the climax, falling action, and resolution all happened in a very short amount of time. I think the climax, or highest point of tension, would be on page 368 when Matt presses his hand to the monitor and they manage to get into Opium without getting shot to pieces. Spoiler alert. The falling action after that was until about page 379, where Matt figures out that everyone died and is angry at Tam Lin for leaving him though he could've saved himself. Spoiler alert over.

The resolution was incredibly short, only one page! On the final page of the book, 380, Matt comes to terms with everything that happens and decides what he's going to do. And this happens in one page. One page. It was so weird! All of a sudden the book was over and I had no idea what just happened. I was about 5 pages from the end and was thinking, how is this going to wrap up in time? The problem is, it didn't. We were left with a short, less-exciting-than-it-should-be, rushed, superficial ending.

Thanks for reading! I only have one post left, so make sure to check for that tomorrow.